By Kevin Henry, Editor
Dr. Ara Nazarian credits two things for his professional success — ambition and his wife. They are both driving forces in his life, and he readily admits he would not be where he is today without them. They are key reasons why he has a thriving practice in Troy, Mich., a suburb of Detroit, and was recently named as a recipient of the Dr. Woody Oakes Scholarship for Excellence in Dentistry.
Dr. Nazarian's love for dentistry runs deep. He knew what he wanted to do the rest of his life when he was a teenager. A broken front tooth introduced the future Dr. Nazarian to the world of possibilities within the dental office. Every day since then has been a learning experience for him.
Amazed with the speed with which his front tooth was fixed, Dr. Nazarian's interest in dentistry was sparked.
"I suddenly became interested in the artistic area of dentistry and being able to create," Dr. Nazarian said. "As an undergrad, I thought about even looking at pre-med, but a friend of the family who was an OB/GYN encouraged me to go into dentistry. He said I would have great hours, and be able to be artistic and creative."
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With inspiration from a friend, Dr. Nazarian began preparing for dental school. It was at that time he met his future wife, Marzena. While she was studying to become a physical therapist, she picked up an interest in dentistry while helping him with his studies.
"She was my assistant during my board exam,".Dr. Nazarian recalled. "She was able to keep me cool and calm during that stressful period. My brother, who was my patient during the exam, said that if she could keep me together during that ordeal, then she was a keeper. He was absolutely correct!"
Dr. Nazarian and Marzena actually decided that each other was a keeper, joining together in marriage in 1996. Marzena continued as a dental assistant, helping Dr. Nazarian as a contracted civilian assistant in the military.
"She definitely outshined most, wanting to learn more and more," Dr. Nazarian said.
After his stint in the military, Dr. Nazarian and Marzena moved back to Michigan where he joined a local group practice. While it may have been practicing dentistry, it wasn't the dentistry that Dr. Nazarian was expecting or hoping for.
"While I was working there, my boss took a few weeks off and asked me to see his patients while he was gone," Dr. Nazarian remembered. "It just wasn't what I had thought of doing (acquiring an established practice). The patients were used to a certain type of dentistry and I really couldn't do the type of work that had first excited me about dentistry."
Mired and a bit confused about the future, Dr. Nazarian signed up for a Las Vegas Institute course. He heard Dr. Bill Dickerson speak during the session, and it re-lit the fire inside him.
"He was talking about composites, veneers, and metal-free restorations and I was sitting there thinking that I didn't even know those things were possible," Dr. Nazarian said. "It really woke me up."
With a new purpose, Dr. Nazarian and Marzena began looking at the possibility of opening their own practice. After crunching the numbers and seeing that it was possible, Dr. Nazarian and Marzena began looking for an office space.
"We found two locations that we thought might be OK and we were trying to decide if we wanted to be in the office building or the strip mall," Dr. Nazarian said. "One night, my wife needed to get a Valentine's Day card so we drove to the store to get one. Our young son was asleep in the back, so I let my wife out of the car and kept driving so our son would stay asleep. While I was driving, I suddenly saw a corner vacancy. We decided that would be a good place for our office, as long as we could have good signage."
The location which now houses Premier Dental Center has been ideal for Dr. Nazarian, who concentrates on restorative and cosmetic dentistry. Located on a major thoroughfare in the Detroit area (Big Beaver Road), his practice gets plenty of visibility and business from the motor industry executives. In addition, its proximity to the Troy Sports Center has become a plus as well.
"The Troy Sports Center sits in the plaza right behind us and it's a place where the Detroit Red Wings (National Hockey League) and Detroit Fury (arena football) practice," Dr. Nazarian explained. "One day during practice, a player for the Fury broke his tooth. We were close to their practice facility, so they asked if I would do a root canal on him. After that, they asked if I could see another of their players. After seeing him, I went to the Fury administration and told them their team really needed to have professional fitted mouthguards. They agreed, and I have since become the team dentist."
That's just one example of the persistence and ambition which have become the calling card of Dr. Nazarian since opening his practice in 2000.
"I want to have my work noticed and be able to give back to dentistry,".Dr. Nazarian said. "I'll send out pictures and letters to people to let them know of the work I can do. I want people to see we are able to do big-name things on a small level."
However, Dr. Nazarian is quick to point out if there is one person who is more persistent than him, it is Marzena.
"She really is the driving force behind our success," Dr. Nazarian said. "When we started, I had ambition, but she had courage. She told me I had what it took to succeed."
"I have believed in him for a long time," said Marzena, who continues to assist Dr. Nazarian and just had the couple's second child in September. "When we came to this point in our lives and we were deciding if we should open our own practice, we knew that we weren't going to be guaranteed a check, and we had a small child to think about. Yes, it was a little risky, but I knew he would make it and I knew he would succeed."
And how is it working as husband and wife?
"I'd say 95 percent of the time things go smoothly, and I think that's because we respect what each other does," Dr. Nazarian said. "We have complementary personalities and we truly focus on dentistry when we're in the office."
"I think we're stronger as a couple because we now both have a single goal (the practice's success) that we can work toward," Marzena added.
For more information, check out the Premier Dental Center Web site — www.premierdentalcenter.com — or call (248) 457-0500
